ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 2 Oklahoma men’s gymnastics team travels to Ann Arbor, Mich. to battle Big Ten foe No. 6 Michigan, Saturday, March 12. The event will start at 2 p.m. CT in the Cliff Keen Arena at the University of Michigan.

Oklahoma enters the meet after claiming its third victory over a top-five opponent, a 360.850-357.750 victory over then-No. 4 Cal.The meet marked OU’s highest team total of the season, as the Sooners improved to 9-0.

The last time the two met during the regular season was a top-five showdown with then-No. 2 OU topping then-No. 3 Michigan. In 2010, Michigan defeated OU in the NCAA team event finals to win the National Title.

OPPONENT PREVIEWMichigan --The No. 6-ranked University of Michigan men’s gymnastics team won each event and posted its best score of the campaign (353.400) to pick up a win at Arizona State (327.550) on March 2. The Wolverines are 7-3 on the season with a 4-2 record in Big Ten play.

A LOOK BACK AT SOONERS’ LAST COMPETITIONThe top-ranked Oklahoma men’s gymnastics team remained undefeated in 2011 on March 5 after defeating No. 4 California. OU claimed the victory without the services of sophomore Jacob Dalton, due to his selection to the list of competitors at the 2011 AT&T American Cup.

OU (9-0 overall, 6-0 MPSF) posted its highest score of the season (360.850) and improved to 9-0 with the victory over the Cal (357.750). The Sooners are now 3-0 against top-five opponents this season with their second straight victory over the Golden Bears.

OU claimed four of the six team events on floor (60.450), pommel horse (59.250), rings (60.650) and high bar (59.800). It marks the fourth meet the Sooners have claimed at least four of the six team event titles.

Oklahoma posted its highest scores of the season on pommel horse, rings and high bar.

HORTON, DALTON TAKE OVER 2011 AMERICAN CUPFormer OU All-American Jonathan Horton won the 2011 AT&T American Cup allaround title with a score of 90.198 on March 5. This is Horton’s third American Cup victory, previously winning the competition in 2006 and 2007.

OU sophomore Jacob Dalton, who won the 2011 Winter Cup Challenge, joined Horton on the podium finishing third in the competition with an all-around score of 88.497. The Reno, Nev., native also finished first on floor (15.766) and tied for first on parallel bars (15.066). This was Dalton’s first Tyson American Cup competition.

Dalton was added to the field for the American Cup Saturday morning. He replaced Russia’s Sergey Khorokhordin, who withdrew due to injury.THREE AT THE TOPThe Sooners now have three gymnasts in the top five of the all-around rankings. Senior Steven Legendre (No. 1) and sophomores Jacob Dalton (No. 2) and Alex Naddour (No. 5) hold scores of 90.717, 89.150 and 86.350, respectively.AN ALL-AROUND TEAMOU currently holds the top ranking on floor (61.517) and vault (64.017 ) in the latest GymInfo poll. The team is also ranked second on pommel horse (58.417), third on rings (58.417), parallel bars (58.633) and on high bar (59.017).

This week marks the first time that the Sooners are ranked in the top three in each apparatus.VAULT LEADERSSenior Steven Legendre (16.467) and sophomore Jacob Dalton (16.450) are the Sooners’ one-two punch on vault, as each have an average score above 16.000.

Both have also set new marks in OU men’s gymnastics history on the apparatus this season. Legendre is the record holder with a 16.700 on Feb. 13 at Nebraska. That score topped the previous mark held by Dalton (16.550).65 AND COUNTING...Steven Legendre won his 63rd, 64th and 65th individual event titles on floor (15.950), high bar (15.650) and all-around (90.400) against Cal. The senior also posted a career high on on pommel horse (14.950).

GYMNAST TO WATCH

Jacob Dalton | Soph. | All-Around -- OU sophomore Jacob Dalton finished third at the American Cup with an allaround score of 88.497.

The Reno, Nev., native also finished first on floor (15.766) and tied for first on parallel bars (15.066). It was Dalton’s first AT&T American Cup competition.

SETTING NEW BAR AT RMOThe meet was highlighted by two Sooners that posted RMO record highs with Legendre's 16.400 on vault and Dalton's 15.100 on parallel bars.

ONE MEET AT A TIMEThe Sooners will participate in eight regular season meets and face five opponents that competed at the 2010 NCAA Championship final. OU will also host three home meets at the Howard McCasland Field House, highlighted by matchups with California Illinois and Penn State.

The 2010 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships will be hosted by Air Force Academy on April 2, while the NCAA Championships will be hosted by Ohio State on April 14 -16.

PRE-SEASON PROMINENCEIn the last 11 years, the OU men's gymnastics program has been ranked in the top three of the preseason coaches poll every season. Six of the 11 years the Sooners have been positioned at the top of the poll.

BRINGING IN MORE TALENTFor the 2011 season head coach Mark Williams signed Presten Ellsworth as a part of the 2010 signing class

A native of Allen, Texas, Ellsworth was a member of the USA Junior National Team for the 2005-06 season and is coached by Sergei Pakanich, at WOGA Gymnastics. In 2009, Ellsworth competed at the Men's Junior Olympic National Championships where he finished third on floor and 11th in the all-around and also competed at the Visa Championships.

In 2008, he also competed in Men's Junior Olympic National Championships and Visa Championships finishing seventh all-around in both events.

LEADING THE 2010 SOONERSSeniors Ian Jackson and Steven Legendre were named co-captains for the 2011 season by head coach Mark Williams. Both were a part of the Sooners 2008 National Championship squad and have received national honors for their effort.

Dalton and Naddour were the latest to be named to the team, while Brooks, Horton and Legendre automatically retain their spots on the national team as members of the 2010 World Championships Team.

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